


The vines that bind us

by Crollalanza



Series: A Cauldron Full of Hot Strong Love [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, First Dates, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-20
Updated: 2017-07-20
Packaged: 2018-12-04 14:09:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11556810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crollalanza/pseuds/Crollalanza
Summary: “No, no, I don’t want normal. I want something Muggley. Give me a ... Coconut Late.”“Lattay,” Daichi corrected, and smiled. “Good choice.”After Sawamura Daichi crash lands into Suga's life, he wants to get to know him better. Specifically he wants to discover if there's more to the brooding Gryffindor than Quidditch and Hogwarts, so he arranges a date in London.But coffee is only the start as secrets are spilled - from both parties' lips.





	The vines that bind us

**Author's Note:**

> Another Hogwarts AU - I'm having a blast!
> 
> The prompt for this was 'New'.

Suga stared at his reflection and jutted out his bottom lip.

He just didn’t know.

The shirt was new, and he liked the colour (a lilac blue) but whether it was suitable, he wasn’t sure. Hajime would know. But that would involve Suga asking him. It would also mean Hajime would want to know why he needed an opinion on a shirt.  Or rather Tooru would want to know. Hajime would probably give him a cursory glance, mutter ‘yeah yeah yeah’ and flap him away so he could return to his book. Tooru, though, would demand to know why an opinion was needed, and refuse to let up until Suga had furnished him with an answer. Or rather, an answer he believed. Unfortunately for Suga, Tooru was outstandingly astute, and Suga strongly suspected he was taking Legilimancy lessons on the side.

And it wasn’t that Suga was up to no good. There was no real reason he had to keep quiet about where he was going to his two best friends. But ... he liked this secret, and didn’t want either Hajime or – more likely – Tooru interfering.

He’d have to make his own mind up. The mirror offered no help at all, merely saying ‘Whatever you think best, dearie’, so Suga, after experimenting with undone cuffs, and one middle button in the manner of a waistcoat, decided to fasten everything. Ties – they were a very definite Muggle thing, and maybe he could purloin one, but then again, was that trying too hard?  Especially as he had the belt thing fastened around his waist.

It was a warm day, and far too hot for robes over the top of clothes, but he needed a disguise, so he unhooked them from the back of the bedroom door and slipped them over his head.

“I’m going out,” he yelled.

“What?”

Tooru burst out of the bedroom next door. “Where to?”

“Uh, bit of a headache, so I thought I’d get some fresh air.”

“Want company?”

“No, it’s fine.”

“It’s not a problem,” Tooru replied. “And I am your host.”

 “And you’ve been a wonderful host,” Suga assured him. “I’m really having a great time, but ... um ...”

Hold on. Since when did Tooru sleep in that room?

Suga pressed his lips together to repress a giggle. “Tell Hajime I’ll see him later. I’m sure you’ll have more fun without me!”

“It’s not like that!” Hajime shouted, sticking his head over Tooru’s shoulder.

“Your shirt’s on back to front. And Tooru’s wearing your Tottingham Hopspurs top.” And without waiting for any more denials, Suga giggled and ran down the stairs with a backward wave and a ‘See you later, much later!’

He was still smiling to himself when he reached the outside, and stripping off the robes, he raced down the front lawn until he made it to the wrought iron gates and slipped out of Oikawa Manor. From there it was a short walk to the station, and it was a cinch for Suga, who’d received an Exceeds Expectations in Muggle Studies, to read the timetable and buy a ticket to London.

With half an hour to kill, he relaxed on a bench, idly daydreaming about the day ahead. He’d not really thought this would happen. Exchanging letters with Daichi, he’d wondered  if they had more in common than Quidditch and Hogwarts, so meeting up – away from the magical world and people who knew them, was really the only way to find this out. At Hogwarts they’d be sneaking around, which however exciting this might seem, was also going to require strategy – which was not Suga’s strong point.

He was just biting his lip as he tried to think whether it was too soon to suggest the Prefect’s Bathroom as a meeting place, when an owl fluttered down to his shoulder. It was Kane, Hajime’s owl, a short stumpy thing, young but definitely not cute, dark feathers over his eyes making it look as if he had a perpetual scowl.

“Oh, what do you want?” Suga sighed.

Kane pecked him, then stuck out his leg.

  **‘I’m guessing you’re meeting someone, so have fun, but take care,’** Hajime had written.

_Oh, Hajime, I’m sixteen!_

He read on, and his heart thumped a little harder. **‘I know you like to be up front, but maybe don’t mention you-know-what straight away.’**

 _Ah._ He swallowed down the sudden rasp in his throat. He knew Hajime meant well, and very probably he was right. Suga had learnt the hard way, with whispers of how he managed to gain top marks in his classes, just how suspicious people were. Only by being extra friendly, and ensuring he did the majority of his work in the library where he could be seen, had the rumours died down. But the suspicion still surfaced, its ether tainting him every time he reached out.

**‘PS: It’s Tottenham Hotspur – or Spurs for short.’**

Smiling, Suga turned the parchment over, fished out a quill from his bag, and wrote.

**‘It’s really not what you think, Hajime, but thank you. Have fun xxx’**

Kane flapped his wings, acquiesced to the note being attached and after a last peck (because Suga had no owl treats on him) he flew back to the manor, leaving Suga alone.

_Maybe Hajime has a point ... I  don’t want to scare him off straight away._

But then, what sort of boy would Sawamura be if he scared that easily?

They’d arranged to meet at midday, and by the time Suga’s train drew into Victoria, the sun was in its ascendency, beating down through the city.  Negotiating tubes was a hairier task, Suga’s eyes blurring at the map of lines and the jostling whenever he stopped to read a map, but at last he worked out the right route and found himself squashed between Muggles: teenagers listening to what he assumed was music, the occasional faint tin-tin of notes reaching his ears, middle aged men with newspapers, studiously avoiding anyone who might need their seat, parents standing up, children clinging to their sleeves, and young women backed into corners.

It was horrible and stuffy and Suga ached to cast a Cooling charm, but at the same time he was excited to be around and taking in this world which was like his own and yet so very different.

Getting off, he dashed to the ‘eckselators’ remembering just in time that they moved and he didn’t have to, and he marvelled once more at how clever everything was.  He’d made it to Charing Cross. It was a place he knew, but usually he sped along the road, racing towards The Leaky Cauldron and Diagon Alley. Today, however, he took a deep breath (grimaced a little at the traffic fumes) and wondered where to wait.

He didn’t have to wonder for long, for sitting on a low wall in the sidestreet was Daichi. Wearing shorts and a red tee, he looked up almost as soon as Suga appeared and instantly raised his hand.

 _Oh, he’s eager!_ Suga laughed inside, gleeful and the worries he’d carried unknowingly, the thought he’d buried that Daichi might not turn up, disappeared.

“You made it!” Daichi cried.

“Um, yes, did you think I wouldn’t?” Suga babbled. Then he blinked. “I’m not late, am I? We did say twelve.”

“No, no, not late at all.”

“But you’ve been waiting long?”

“N-not really. Just ... um ... my train was ... uh ... early.”

_He’s stuttering. Oh, Merlin, is he nervous?  How ... adorable!_

Suga smiled. It seemed to send Daichi an even brighter red, and he looked down at his feet.

“You look nice,” Suga said.

“Really? It’s ... nothing.” He coughed. “You look ... um ... nice, too.”

“Do I?” Suga twisted around a little, pulling at his cufflink. “Only, I wasn’t sure what to wear. It’s not like I haven’t got Muggle clothes. I don’t wear robes all the time at home, but, well, most things are old, and Muggles seem much more ... um ... changeable. Last year I was wearing these things called leggings when I visited Hajime, and his sister laughed saying they were for dancers.”

“Leggings?”

“Um, yes.”

Daichi’s eyes appeared to be on stalks and then he hurriedly looked away. “They’re sort of sporty, I guess.”  He cleared his throat. “Iwaizumi has a sister, then?”

“Three. His youngest sister is magic, too. And you?”

“Older brother,” Daichi muttered. “A Muggle.”

 _Oh, touchy subject._ Suga bit his lip.

But Daichi, after a shake of his head, gave Suga a flat sort of smile, then asked, “Where do you want to go?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I’ve been to London, but it’s always been to Diagon Alley. I’d love to see something else.”

“Really?”

“Mmm, yes. How about Muggle ice-cream. Or coffee? Or ... um ... that food place with a big gold archway. Unless that’s really expensive?” He pulled out his moneybag, fishing out a couple of twenty pound notes. ‘Will that be enough?’

Daichi was laughing, the effect on his face like a metamorphic charm as the black clouds left his expression. “I think I can run to a burger and fries. And ice cream’s not that different here, just a few less flavours. As for the coffee ...” He trailed off and pointed to a maroon coloured shop, its name written in French. “We can go there if you’d like?”

Suga did like. He liked the busy-ness of the place. He liked the different accents and languages chattering around him, the lights picking out the different colours of the sandwiches, and the fruit chopped into little pots, and the individual wrapped cakes. It was when he saw the coffee menu that he baulked.

“What is Oat Capp- u –ssino? Sounds like porridge!”

“Cappu _ch_ ino,” Daichi said, and to be very fair to him, he was stifling his smirk, “It’s coffee made from oat milk.”

“Oat milk?  How can an oat be milked?”

“It’s ... uh ...” Daichi scratched his head. “I have no idea. Look, there are others. Flat white is kind of normal.”

“No, no, I don’t want normal. I want something Muggley. Give me a ... Coconut Late.”

“Lattay,” Daichi corrected, and smiled. “Good choice.”

“Is it? You’re not going to tell me that and then I find it’s full of coconut hair or something.”

“Nope, it’s good. I’m having one too.” He was still grinning, and then the smile became gentler as he talked to the Muggle serving.

Only slightly disappointed the drink wasn’t served in a coconut shell, Suga found them a table at the back of the cafe. People all around them were busy with ‘things’ pressing on buttons, or reading screens. It didn’t look restful at all, and even people who were sat together seemed to have scant conversation preferring to flick their attention to a device.

“Is this what Muggles do to relax?” he asked.

“Some of them,” Daichi said.

“It’s not like the textbooks. I thought people came here in groups and smoked and played loud music. I should tell Professor Takeda he needs to take his Muggle Studies class on a field trip here.”

Daichi’s lips twitched. He blew across his coffee, then took a sip, the foam smudging on his nose. “He questions all us Muggleborns. He’s enthusiastic and I guess that’s good, but it’s ... um ...”

“What?”

“A bit tiring at times.”

“Hajime gets cross,” Suga replied. “I was always bugging him, but his sister thought I was hilarious. Especially the leggings. She brought out this net skirt thing and asked if I wanted to borrow it.”

“Really?” Daichi’s eyes were goggling. “And ... uh ... did you?”

Wide-eyed, Suga nodded. “Then we went to the park to meet Hajime and his old friends.” He giggled. “Think his friends got the wrong idea about me.”

“Uh ... what happened?”

“Well it might have been the wings on my back that she’d said were all the rage. Or maybe it was the glitter in my hair. Or it could have been the lip –” Suga stopped talking, and licked some of the coffee foam, eyeing Daichi, whose expression was stunted, from under his lashes. “I’m kidding, Sawamura. I’m not that much of an idiot.”

“I knew that!”

“Your face!”

“I thought you were about to tell me you’d been beaten up.”

“Beaten up?” Suga hooted. “No chance.”

“Then the leggings were a wind up, too.”

“Oh, no, that part was the truth. Ouch, you’re very defensive.” 

“Sorry,” Daichi mumbled. He gnawed on his lip. “Had a lot of pranks played on me in my first year, and I guess I overreact.”

Suga sipped some coffee, letting it cool on his tongue before swallowing. “What confused you most about the Magical world?”

“Uh...” Daichi scratched his head. “The same thing I love about it, I guess.”

“Which is?”

“How the things I can do, what I am, is normal. My brother’s really bright and popular and I’m this weirdo. My mum had a hard time handling it.”

“And your Dad?” Suga asked, then felt his cheeks pink. “I’m sorry, that’s really personal.”

“S’fine. He left. I don’t _know_ if it’s down to me, but he has another family now.”

“That’s tough.”

“That’s life.” Daichi shrugged. “What about you?”

“Um, bit like you, I guess.” _Am I telling him?_

“Really?” His eyes betrayed his scepticism, and he sat back in his chair. “Your dad left?”

“No, I mean my life isn’t that conventional.  My parents travel, and I did a lot too before Hogwarts, so ... well ... school’s been the first really settled place I have.”

“That sounds fun!”

“Sort of.” Suga stirred his coffee, then lifted the spoon to his mouth, lapping up the froth. Daichi was watching him, and he gave him a smile, which appeared to make him flush again.

“You must have seen some amazing things.”

“Well, I guess. We moved around before I could get attached anywhere, but some of it was fun.” Taking a slug of his coffee (shit, it’s hot) he fixed Daichi a look, wondering, and then slipped out his tongue between his teeth.

Daichi flinched and dropped his spoon. “Shit, sorry, I’m so clumsy!”

“No, it’s me,” Suga said and sighed. “Sorry, I was trying to explain something, but it wasn’t the best way.” He exhaled, and this time Daichi stared back, puzzled but not flustered.

“You look different,” he muttered.

“Bad different or good different.”

“Uh ... dunno. Just more normal, I guess. Just now, when I dropped the spoon, you kind of ... God, this will sound dumb, but it was like you glimmered.”

“Ah, well, yes.” Suga coughed. _Okay, here we go._ “My mum is a Veela, so I’m half.”

“Veela? They’re the ... you were _hypnotising_ me?”

“N-not really. Oh Merlin, I am bad at this. I was trying to illustrate life with my family. Your reaction kind of says it all because no one trusts Veelas which is why we moved around a lot.” He stretched over, blotting up the coffee that had slopped out of Daichi’s cup. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“Uh ...” Daichi swallowed.

_Okay, he’s either going to leave now, or stick around. I’ll know one way or another so ... Oh damn he’s getting up! Here goes the shortest lived date in the history of being Sugawara Koushi!_

“Daichi, please –”

“Huh?” Daichi turned back, dropping some napkins he’d purloined from the next table. He sat back down, and helped with the mopping up job. “Why _did_ you tell me?” he asked, not looking at Suga.

“You trusted me with your family story, so it was only fair I shared mine.”

“Oh ... right.”

“And ... um ... I don’t want you to think I’ve somehow charmed you into being here,” Suga stated, and tried not to think about the miserable times he’d lost a friend when he’d brought them back to meet his parents.

“But male Veelas don’t exist,” Daichi said, puzzled. “Professor Anabara taught us that in Care of Magical Creatures so why would ...” He blinked. “How did you do it?”

“Do what?”

“Make me drop my spoon. And you _did_ glimmer!”

“I’m hot, it’s the coffee,” Suga said crossly. “I was flirting that’s all and coupled with a bit of knowledge, you decided I was Veela and had hypnotised you. I see it all the time!”

Daichi grinned. “Wow, and to think I’m supposed to be the defensive one.”

“I’m not a Veela,” Suga muttered. “I’m just ... uhm ...”

“Charming,” Daichi joked. Then he straightened his face, mouthing a sorry. “How ... um ... does it affect you?”

“I didn’t influence teachers into giving me good OWL grades, or the Quidditch captaincy, if that’s what you want to know,” Suga snapped.

“That’s not what I mean,” Daichi jumped in. Then he creased his brow. “Uh ... did I just hear that right? You’re Quidditch Captain.”

“Oh – ha. Oops,” Suga giggled. “That’s a secret. I’m awful at keeping them. Only Hajime knows, although he’s probably told Tooru, which is annoying as he’s Slytherin Captain and ... Um, forget I said that, too!”

“I’ll trade secrets if you want,” Daichi replied. “I’ve been made a Prefect.”

He looked proud, but as if he was trying to pass it off as something of no consequence, his hand rubbing the back of his head.

“That’s fantastic. They must think you’re very responsible.” 

His coffee was cooler now, and he took a slurp, enjoying its richness. Daichi drained his, placing the mug back on the table.

“Or boring,” he replied, and gave a curious smile, one that didn’t seem to curve upwards at all, almost a grimace. “I know what people say about me. Dependable, stolid. No one can work out how I made it to Gryffindor, ‘specially when they see me fly.”

Suga licked his lips, chasing away the last drops of coffee, keeping his gaze on Daichi, hoping he looked sincere. “I don’t think you’re boring at all,” he murmured.  “You face Bludgers and Quaffles and over-enthusiastic Beaters every time you play. I think you’re very brave. Whereas Seekers like me avoid the action, zip across the sky, and claim all the glory.”

“Is that why you play? For glory?”

Suga considered. “Honestly? I’m not sure. I love flying, and Quidditch is incredible, but it’s ... it’s more that I want Hufflepuff to win for a change.”

“You beat Slytherin last year.”

“Well, yes, but I don’t want that to be my only achievement.” He took a break, finishing his coffee in one last gulp. They were back on Quidditch again, and Hogwarts and this was not what he’d had in mind.

“What else do you like doing?” he asked.

“Uh ... not much you’d be interested in.”

“Try me?”

“Well, photography.”

“Oh yes, of course. My mother loves that picture you took of me. She cut it out of the paper. Why do you like it?”

“I like watching people fly. It’s cool capturing that,” Daichi explained.  He flushed. “You were incredible in that match.”

“Anything else?”

“Well, you were good –”

“I mean things you’re interested in,” Suga qualified.

 “Few things.” He shrugged. “Are you holding tryouts?”

“Mmm, probably.” Suga pushed his cup away. The collar of his shirt felt restricting and he wondered whether he could loosen it, or do something with the cuffs tight on his wrists. He shifted in his chair, uncomfortable now he’d thought of it.

“Do you want to leave?”

“Wouldn’t mind.”

“Diagon Alley?” suggested Daichi, but he sounded a little resigned.

“Uhm...”

“It’s very hot out there. Diagon Alley might be cooler for you.”

“Oh, I’m good. I could always ... uh ...” He pulled at his collar again and wondered if it were possible he could cast a Cooling Charm without the Ministry bearing down on him. This close to Diagon Alley, he could probably get away with it, but possibly not in a Muggle establishment as they were probably a little more vigilant.  “Could we get ice cream, or something? I’ll pay, but, yeah, I do need to cool down. This shirt is really ... How do Muggles cope?”

“They just do, but ... um ...” Daichi stood up, then gestured Suga’s collar. “Not many of them wear that kind of shirt normally.”

“What’s wrong with it?” Suga asked, flicking the ruffle. “I bought it from a Muggle shop only yesterday.”

“No, it’s ... fine,” Daichi began, then screwed up his nose as he scrutinised. “It’s sort of posh. Like it’s something a guy might wear to a wedding or going to the races. And ... uh ... you don’t have to do the buttons right up, if you don’t want. And the cummerbund – that’s the belt - is great but ... not really necessary.”

Suga could feel his face falling. “And the trousers?”

“Well, they’re really nice,” Daichi assured him. “And you look dead smart, but ... yeah ... you look like you’re going to Buckingham Palace to meet the Queen.”

“Wow, and you didn’t want to say anything?”

“You _do_ look nice,” Daichi repeated. “I look scruffy next to you.”

“But out of place.”

“You know something, in London it really doesn’t matter.”

“Then, will you show me more?” Suga asked. “Show me the places you like. The Muggle places, I mean.”

“If you really want. I don’t want you to be bored.”

“I’m not.” He laughed, looked around the cafe, and met the eyes of the customers now staring back at them. “This is all new and I’m loving it!”

 

Needing no further prompting, Daichi led the way, and as he walked, pointing out a few things he liked, mentioning some landmarks, Suga saw his nerves disappearing. He was confident, and seemed older than his fifteen years, and Suga wondered if that maturity was because of his surrounding, that he no longer felt like an outlier because he was informing and in charge.

They travelled on the tube again, still hot, and crowded, but travelling with Daichi made it far less of a chore (especially as standing up meant they had to press quite close to each other and it was fun watching Daichi’s face redden – even if he didn’t move away).

“Where’s this?” he asked, when they reached their stop.

“Uh, well, I can’t get you to Buckingham Palace,” Daichi teased, “But this is another palace.”

“You live here!”

“Ha ha – I wish. No, I visited once.” Daichi’s voice became distant, his eyes taking everything in before they focused on one path. “Up there’s some water. We can cool down, if you want.”

“Swim?”

“Ah, no. It’s like a place you can paddle in. Come on, it’s this way.”

And he held out his hand, open and with a smile. Suga’s eyes flickered, his mind going into overdrive (will people see? Will it matter? Why am I hesitating?) and then Daichi faltered, looking away. The open palm became a fist, and the smile slipped.

“Show me,” Suga said. He stepped closer and slid his hand down Daichi’s hand, furling his hand around the closed fist. He gave a squeeze, and Daichi unclenched his hand, letting Suga entwine their fingers.

The expected cat-calls didn’t come, and Daichi – less tense now – resumed his air of authority as he led Suga towards a vast expanse of green. The parched grass, almost yellow, was bedecked with bodies lying on towels or blankets, some bringing cushions, others lazing direct on the grass. Together and alone, Muggles ate their lunch, read books and played on their phones.  Children munched sandwiches, some of them running around kicking a ball or performing cartwheels.

Daichi’s face had lit up, and he increased the pace, half dragging Suga with him as he steamed towards a large swirl of stone, a low-lying structure that drew the eye and the attention as soon as you entered the park.

“Over there,” Daichi was saying, slowing a little, “is a fountain. Sort of. Water flows, a bit like a stream and it’s ...” He said no more, but continued to walk.

It was, in Suga’s opinion, quite underwhelming. Certainly there was  a more impressive fountain at the Ministry, but there was also something delightful about it, and as he got closer, he could hear amongst the shrieks and shouts, the bubble of the water.

Sitting on the lip, he leant closer, feeling the spray on his face, and an almost musical babble swirled around him.

“It’s laughing,” he whispered.

“You hear that too,” Daichi murmured, and joined him on the fountain’s edge. “Be careful.”

“Huh? Daichi, I’m hardly likely to drown.”

“It’s tempting, don’t you think?”

“Like a Veela?” Suga said, a touch sour.

Daichi shook his head and stippled his fingers in the water, then cupped his hands to splash it over his face, letting it drench his hair.  He laughed to himself. “Sorry, this is probably a really boring place to someone who’s travelled the world.”

“Everywhere palls after a while,” Suga replied, “But seeing it through someone else’s eyes is always fascinating. Tell me about your visit, will you?”

“I was nine and we had an appointment with a psychologist,” Daichi began, and all at once the colour left his face, “Mum was desperate to find out what was _wrong_ with me, so had sought out this psychologist – that’s like a special doctor for the head. My food had been disappearing and she couldn’t see me eating it. It was always something I didn’t like.” He pulled a face. “Baked beans probably or celery and when she asked me what I’d done with it, I told her – quite truthfully – that it had vanished.”

“Had it?”

Daichi nodded. “Probably. She was convinced I was lying, but it was magic manifesting itself and all that, I disliked the food, so I hoped it would disappear and –”

“Voila!” Suga supplied and placed his hand on Daichi’s shoulder.  “So you were on your way to see the ... um ... sikogist ... and stopped here.”

“Yeah, we were early. Mum hates being late for anything, so we got to the appointment an hour ahead of time. This was nearby, and, I don’t know why, but _just_ that once she agreed when I asked if we could visit the park. Normally she’d have stayed in the waiting room, making sure I behaved, but that day ...” He paused and his eyes became dreamy again at the memory. “I was hot, and all I wanted was to wade right in. Mum told me I couldn’t. She didn’t want me getting wet. I was in school uniform – blazer and tie, which she wouldn’t let me take off - but of course, I had a whiff of freedom now, and I wouldn’t be told. I ran towards this place. All I wanted was to watch the water, or let it wash against my fingers and ... cool down.”

“And did you?”

Daichi was still reminiscing. “I could hear her shouting, but it was like it was muted because the only thing calling me was this fountain. You’ve heard the expression a babbling brook; well I thought the water was babbling to me.”

Suga stayed quiet, but he reached out to take Daichi’s hand, letting the water flow around their fingers.

“I fell in. Actually, I kind of jumped, I suppose, and right when I got into the water, I knew how much trouble I’d be in. This wasn’t disappearing vegetables, or being able to escape locked doors. This was _public_ and now she had a dripping wet child with a ruined school uniform and an appointment with some posh doctor.

“Then...” Daichi breathed in and the lines in his forehead uncreased as a smile tinged the corners of his mouth. “I was crying because I knew I was in trouble and all I wanted was to be dry and standing back on the side of the fountain, with no one yelling at me.”

“What happened?” Suga ventured.

“I felt a breeze, like ... like one of those hand dryers all around me, and within seconds I was dry. I was _still_ in the water, but I was dry and Mum came charging up, ready to belt seven bells out of my backside, but I stepped out and nothing dripped off me.”

“Magic?”

“Well, yeah, and I knew at that point it was down to me. And that should have sent me screaming again, because what kid can do that? I was frightened, sure, especially ‘cause Mum had stopped running and was staring at me in horror, but ...”

“Go on.”

“This old man appeared. He was dressed in black robes and an orange belt, which was odd for the heat of the day. I could tell my mum didn’t approve, but it was like she was frozen, and this man, he sat about where you are now, clapped me on the shoulder and said, ‘That’s magic. You did that because you’re a wizard and don’t let _anyone_ tell you otherwise.’”

“Wow.”

“So it’s here was where I first realised I wasn’t an oddball.” He started to laugh, the oppression of memories leaving him as the story concluded.

“A merman, maybe,” Suga said, teasing a little as he flicked some water in Daichi’s face. A droplet settled on his cheek, and Suga smudged it away with his thumb.

“No, I’m a crow.”

“Pardon!”

“’Little crow’ – that’s what the man called me. He lifted me off the fountain lip, and as I settled on the grass, I kind of hovered, so he told me I had wings in my feet, and I should learn to fly before my mother’s vines twisted round my ankles.” Daichi coughed and then as he shook his head, the water in his hair sprayed out in a fine mist. “I saw him again.”

“Did he deliver your Hogwarts letter?”

“Ah, no, that was Professor Takeda. My mystery wizard was Professor Ukai.”

“Our old flying Instructor.”

“Yeah,” Daichi grinned. “I took it as an omen. And he recognised me. Gave me a clip round the ear when I turned up late, then a wink, and told me he was pleased the vines hadn’t stopped me from making it to Hogwarts.”

Watching as the sun sparkled on the water, Suga felt his thoughts of the day – of the date – clarify. He’d been so adamant that he wanted it separate from Hogwarts and Quidditch, but ...  “Flying’s very important to you, isn’t it?” he mused.

“It was the one thing I was good at straight away,” Daichi muttered. “First day and I’m with all these kids from pureblood families, Bokuto, Kuroo, and Asahi’s half, and, you know, in every other subject they had the upper hand on me, but this time ... Flying was bliss. And I could show them. I still do.” His face darkened, the dark brown eyes brooding on some unseen goal, a slight – perhaps imagined.

“Gods, you don’t just have a chip on one shoulder, Sawamura,” Suga replied, “but two. Be careful or they’ll weigh you down.”

“At least I’m balanced,” Daichi said, giving a wry smile. “Sorry, I’m not much fun, am I?”

“I don’t mind. It’s interesting to find out what drives you,” Suga said, inching closer across the fountain.

Around them the sounds persisted, children laughing, Muggle music, yells of delight, and the water, the bubbling water effervescing around them.

He placed his hands on Daichi’s shoulders. “I’m interested,” he murmured, and tilted his head to one side. There was a hitch in Daichi’s throat, a muffled moan, and then he touched his lips to Suga’s. It was an almost-there kiss, one that could have been ignored and forgotten with a swift retreat, but neither pulled away, gazing into each other’s eyes.

“I’m nothing. Just a Muggleborn with a chip or two on my shoulders,” Daichi mumbled.

“And I’m a part-Veela that nobody quite trusts,” Suga whispered, and gripped Daichi’s shoulders tight.

No one was screaming at them. No one appeared to have noticed, or thought it strange. There was an anonymity here in the crowded Muggle park, by this winding fountain with its ‘wisha, wisha, wisha’ whirling water.  By pouting his lips, Suga closed the gap between them, finding Daichi’s mouth and nuzzling.  “I will smooth away those chips,” Suga murmured, sliding his hands down Daichi’s back. “If you trust me.”

Daichi’s mouth parted, his tongue darting in and out. Cool like the water below them. He slipped his hands around Suga’s waist, drawing him nearer.

“I do trust you,” Daichi said, and gave a throaty chuckle. “Anyway, if you are charming me, then ... bring it on.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> It's the end of daisuga week, so I hope you've enjoyed the stories I've written. I have one more prompt, so I'll see what happens. Thank you all so much for reading and supporting me. I feel rejuvenated. :D


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